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Monday, January 30, 2012

Today was our best visit yet! Baby A is back to normal and was a joy to be around today. He was happily playing in his bed when we got there. His nanny fed him breakfast then sat him at his little table so we could play. The first time we went to Eastern Europe I was a nervous wreck the whole time he was at his little table but today I was fine. He is very strong and sits well by himself. We played with his race cars and made cool car noises. Then he wanted to take a ride in his new car so we did that for a few minutes but he decided he wanted to go in his old car so one of the nurses put him in there. He loved the freedom of moving around where ever he wants on his car. All the nurses would ask him "where is Papa?" and he would point to Jason and say "tom" which means there, then they would say "where is Mama?" and he would point to ME!!!! and say "tom." He now knows that I am Mama!!! If they ask where Olga is he points to his nanny. Then it was time for our lunch. They are so excited to feed us lunch. Olga told us there is an old proverb that says something like you should treat your guests better then you own father. She is always very hospitable. We had chicken noodle soup, apples, and oranges. It was really good thankfully because if it wasn't I'm sure we would still eat it just to be polite. After lunch we played with Baby A while he sat in his bed. Jason had Baby A cracking up by having a frog puppet eat the finger puppets then spit it out. Baby A loved that game and kept handing the frog to Jason when he would put it down because he wanted to keep playing. Then I asked if I could pick Baby A up and his nanny explained what spots hurt on him and told me the best way to pick him up. She handed him to me because at first he didn't want me. He wanted his nanny but he let me hold him for about 15 minutes. We walked around and I told him what everything was in his room. We even danced a little which I loved. He is such a sweet baby and is getting very friendly.

Kenya I was showing Baby A your picture and I would say "this is your sissy" then I would say "where is sissy?" then he would point to you picture and say "tom" which means there. He knows that you are his sissy. He loves looking at your pictures. Kenya Baby A only likes to go to sleep in his stroller so you will have to help me get him to sleep by pushing him all around the house in his stroller. He is going to love having you as his big sister.

Toward the end of our visit he was getting really tired so his nanny had Jason go out in the hall and push him in his stroller to get him to sleep. It was so sweet getting to watch Jason put him to sleep! While they were doing that Baby A's nanny, our translator and I all had a great talk. His nanny told my how glad she was that he was going to our family. She said as soon as she heard he had a family she started praying for us. She said she loves him and will miss him but family is best. Then I told her how excited we are to be taking him home but I am also so sad for her because I know that he is like a son to her and she is going to miss him so much! We talked for a long time and I told her that we would keep in touch and we will send her pictures. She told us how sick he was when he first got to the hospital and how he wouldn't even eat from a spoon when he first got there. He couldn't even hold his head up and she said he was covered in blood when they got him to the hospital he is in now. He was 11 months old when he got transferred to the hospital he is at now. I told her how thankful we are for the care he has received. It was a really neat time of getting to know her. She really loves us so much and I think the first trip she was just trying to figure out if we really loved Baby A and were willing to take care of him. Once she realized that we do love him I think that changed everything. I love her so much and my heart is truly broken thinking about how sad she will be once we do get to bring him home. After that we headed home. I can't wait to go back tomorrow. I started recording our conversation so I can show Baby A when he is older. I have a lot more questions I want to ask her tomorrow so hopefully that will work out.

We are going to spend the rest of the day hanging out at our host families house then tomorrow we will get to see our sweet boy again. I am going to miss him so much when we come home we have really bonded a lot this trip.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Hello again! Jason and I are still doing great! We got to the hospital at 11am today and Baby A was sleeping and still not feeling well. His nanny told us we could go in his room but told us to be really quiet because he hadn't been sleeping well. We were very tired but as soon as we sat down he saw me and started screaming. I tried to push his stroller and get him back to sleep but he was having no part of that. His nanny came and got him and walked around with him for a little while. He was not happy at all. She fed him lunch and treated some blisters he had and he was still miserable. We knew he wasn't going to really enjoy company toady so we were prepared to just sit and stare at our sweet boy again but about an hour after we got there he was ready for company. I pushed him in his stroller for a long time and told him all about what was to come. I told him we were going to be adopting him, I told him about the plane ride home, I told him to make sure he loves on his nanny because she is going to miss him, I sang songs to him then I shared Psalm 139 with him. As I was telling him what that verse said I started to cry and I could hardly get the words out. I told him how special he is and how much we love him. I told him that his life might not always be easy but God is so so faithful. My prayer is that he will always know how special he is and I pray he uses his life for God's glory.

Then they wanted to serve us lunch which was super sweet. We had some kind of soup which was really good then they brought us what they called lazy stuffed cabbage and bread. It was so sweet that they wanted to feed us! After lunch we went out of his room and Baby A was playing on his car. We sat on the floor and played with him for a about an hour. He loved getting to move around using his car. He would come see me and check out the video camera then he would go see Jason and they would play. I really think he is starting to like me more which is so exciting! His nanny walked through where we were playing several times and he never cried or wanted to stop playing. Today was our best visit with him and I hope tomorrow goes just as good! We took his pictures for his passport today!!!! We did it at the hospital so I hope we took some they can use. We are not bringing him home yet but I guess they start getting things together early. Our visit lasted for about 4 hours today!!!

After we left the hospital we went to the Flea Market. It was so neat, the buildings in Eastern Europe are amazing all of them are so beautiful even at the flea market. We had a really good and kinda crazy time there. Jason had some fresh roasted meat and yummy bread. I enjoyed a few bites of his but wasn't too hungry so I didn't get my own.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Today we left the apartment around 10:30am to head to see Baby A. He was sleeping on his nanny when we got there. She put him in his swing so we could watch him sleep. He is so sick right now and it was so sad to see him in so much pain. He wasn't sleeping very peacefully and moved around a lot. Even when he was awake he kept his eyes closed because he was just not feeling well. We were there for about 3 hours and during that time he only opened his eyes for a few minutes. Once he saw us though he was really happy and kept smiling at us. He didn't want us to hold him but he was glad we were there. If you ask him where something is he says "tom" which means there. So his nanny would ask him "where are the shoes?" and he would point and say "tom" It was so cute! We told his nanny that we were going to be leaving for the day soon and she said we could stay as long as we wanted because she really enjoyed us being there. What an answer to prayer! We needed to head back to our apartment because our host family was going to be taking us out that night so we did end up leaving but it is so great to know she likes to hang out with us. We were telling her bye and we thought Baby A was asleep but then he started waiving bye. It was so so cute! Then we said "paka" which means bye and he said "paka." We were so excited because that's the first time he has ever said that!

Before we left the hospital my stomach started hurting and by the time we got home it was hurting a lot. Once we got home I took a 3 hour nap. I have been a lot more tired this trip then I was on the first trip. I woke up from my nap feeling refreshed and my stomach stopped hurting.

We left with Nicole and Rob (our host family) around 5:30pm and walked to the metro so we could go have dinner with them. This was our first time on a subway of any kind and it wasn't scary at all ha. I thought it was going to be crazy and we were going to have to push our way in but it was pretty chill. No one talked in the Metro at all. We laughed at one point and got a lot of stares. We ate Lebanese food (I think that's what it was) and it was really good. We had so much fun hanging out with them and we were laughing the whole time. One the way back it was -16 outside and I felt like my face was going to be frozen by the time we got back to the apartment. Only my face was cold but man it was soooooo cold!

We had a great day and we hope Baby A will feel better tomorrow. We will be heading to the hospital again at 10:30am to see our sweet boy!

Friday, January 27, 2012

Hey guys! Jason and I are doing good just tired (it's 11:55pm on Friday right now).
We got to go spend a few hours with Baby A today! He was asleep for about half of the visit so we just watched him sleep. It totally felt like when we brought our kids home from the hospital and we would just watch them sleep. We would have friends come over and we would say "sorry if this is boring to you but we love watching them sleep." That's what is was like, we just loved getting to watch our sweet baby. He was scratching a lot today more than I have ever seen him. He woke up several times when he was sleeping and I got to push his stroller back and forth to help him fall back to sleep. Once he woke up he was super fussy. I think his eyes were hurting because his nanny put medicine in them he could hardly open his eyes. We were able to get him to smile a few times but overall he was not happy. His nanny was really sweet and was having me help with different things today! Jason got to help with his bath. In fact he held Baby A (on his blanket) while his nanny bathed him. We had to leave right after that though because we needed to get our medical exams done.

Our medical exams were... well... not the most fun I have ever had but I sure am glad that part is over. We had to see 8 doctors who interview us and examined us. They said we passed and they are just waiting on the blood work.

Please be praying that God would give us wisdom during court. We have already been asked some questions that were hard to answer and I know it won't be easier with the judge. We will not be asking to have the 30 days waived (because we were told not to) so we will come home on February 3rd and return in March to pick him up.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

I know of 3 other families that are adopting from the exact same place as us using the same agency. Three of them got emails saying our coordinator in Eastern Europe was going to be asking for court dates on the 17th of January. I was so excited but I wasn't sure if we were getting one since we didn't receive the email everyone else did. I emailed our coordinator in America and asked her if everyone was getting a court date on the 17th and she said yes. I was so excited I told everyone that we would be getting a court date on the 17th.

Friday the 13th I emailed our coordinator in America and told her that we hadn't received the email everyone else did and I just wanted to make sure she knew that we could travel ASAP. She email me back and said our coordinator in Eastern Europe didn't include us in the email either because it was an oversight or all of our paperwork wasn't ready yet. She said we would not be getting a court date on the 17th and I was devastated. I must have just completely misunderstood her and thought we were getting a court date.

I talked to some of the ladies at our church about it and they just shared scripture with me and prayed for me. I felt so much better after that. I know that God is sovereign over all things and I know his timing is perfect but sometimes I just need to be reminded of that. I was totally at peace with not getting a court date yet and I would just keep getting the house ready until we got a date.

Then Saturday the 14th I had the worst headache and I was just laying on the couch trying to get my head to stop hurting. Then Jason saw online that Tripp had passed away and I was so so sad. My head hurt so bad that I couldn't really process all the emotions I was feeling. Sunday during worship it hit me though and I lost it. I cried and cried as I was overcome with grief. I was so sad for Courtney and so sad that Tripp had passed away. I was of course relieved that he wasn't suffering anymore but Courtney still lost her baby and my heart couldn't even handle the emotion of it all. I couldn't help but cry and mourn the loss of sweet baby Tripp.

Then on Tuesday the 17th I was so excited for all my friends who would be receiving their court dates. My friend Kelly called me and I thought she was going to tell me what her court date was but she said "have you checked your email?" I said "no, why?" She said "because you GOT YOUR COURT DATE!!!!" I said "SHUT UP!!!, YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME.....!!!!!" I was so excited I couldn't believe it. I said "okay I have to call Jason, talk to you soon." Then I looked at my phone and saw I had a text message that Jason sent me it said "WE HAVE OUR COURT DATE!" He can't really talk on the phone at work so that's why he sent me the text. We were both so excited.

Then Tuesday night Jason , Kenya and I drove to Louisiana to go to Tripp's funeral. Wednesday was his funeral and I blogged about it here. It was so devastating and heart breaking.

Then we came back home and have been getting ready to go to Eastern Europe every since.

I feel like my heart is torn in two. Half of my heart is so excited to be so close to adopting Baby A but the other half is devastated and still mourning the loss of Tripp so please know when I blog about how excited I am I am also as equally sad thinking about Courtney and Tripp. It is a very strange thing going through my heart right now.

So now here is the exciting news WE LEAVE TOMORROW FOR EASTERN EUROPE!!!! Our court date is FEBRUARY 2ND!!!!!

Please be praying that the Judge will approve our adoption and please be praying if it is God's will that they would waive the 30 day wait so we can bring him home with us this trip.

Here is how it will all go down..
*we leave tomorrow to head to Eastern Europe and we will arrive on the 26th.
*as soon as we land we will head to have blood work done
*Friday the 27th we will have our medical evaluations done and I'm guessing we will get to see Baby A.
* we should get to see him every day we are there.
*then Thursday the 2nd we will go before the judge and they will read over our whole dossier (which includes our home study financial forms, medical papers, and tons of other things) then we will be asked a lot of questions regarding why we want to adopt Baby A, how we plan on caring for him... I'm not sure what all we will be asked but I know it will be a lot.

It is still very important that we are not linked with Baby A online ANYWHERE so please don't post his name and say we are coming to adopt him or anything like that. I will let everyone know when it is safe to spread the word.

That is the latest news. Please join us in praying for God to be glorified through all of this and for His will to be done!

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Jason, Kenya and I drove to Louisiana Tuesday night so we could be at Tripp's service on Wednesday. It took about 9 hours to get there. Normally Jason and I can't last long on road trips but Jason never got tired and drove the whole way there. Kenya did great on the trip, she read books and played on the Kindle Fire most of the time until she fell asleep. I really enjoyed getting to spend time with Jason and Kenya (when I wasn't sleeping).

Jason always makes this face when I take a picture of him driving.

Kenya and Mommy :)

I had never been to Louisiana before and one thing that really surprised me is how much water there was. I'm sure that is a well know fact but really there is water EVERYWHERE.

On the drive down there it was dark so these pictures are from our trip home.

We got to our hotel at about 2AM (I think) and we all crashed out.

We woke up and got ready for Tripp's service but had some time to spare so we drove to New Orleans to get some real Cajun food. We didn't know where we wanted to go and the first place we went wasn't open yet so we ended up at the Rajun Cajun. The outside looked SUPER cool but the inside looked like a Italian restaurant (which is fine if your name isn't "Rajun Cajun").

The food was really good! I was brave and got gator sausage over jumbulia and fried green tomatoes! Even though the food was good I only took a few bites cause I couldn't get over the fact I was eating gator :)

As we drove closer to the church all the buildings in the little town were covered in red balloons and red ribbons. I couldn't help but cry seeing the love this town has for Courtney and Tripp.

We walked into the church and there were people in line waiting to see Courteny and the rest of Tripp's family. As we waited I almost decided to get out of line because I knew Courtney was most likely exhausted and I'm sure was ready to just sit down. I thought about it though and I knew if I didn't give her a hug I would regret it so we stayed in line. As I walked up to Courtney I could feel the tears coming on, I told her who we were and then I lost it. We hugged each other and I told her that Tripp has changed the world forever and we love him so much. I told her how much we loved her and that we were praying for her. Knowing what it is like to lose a child you wouldn't wish that pain on anyone and I would have done anything if I could have taken her pain away. Then she introduced us to her Mom and sister. Courtney and her family are amazing! I pray I can be half the mom that Courtney is.

As we walked to the back of the church to find a place to sit I saw Patrice. I have missed her so much so it was great to get to hug her. Then Bella's Dad Tim came over and I gave him a big hug. We all talked for a few minutes then went outside to take a few pictures.

Kenya was shy at first but soon jumped into Patrice's arms and just snuggled with her.

Then we met more of Courtney's family. They are the sweetest people ever! Courtney's Aunt kept asking us if we were hungry or needed any water. Then after the funeral and before we left to head home she asked us again if we wanted any food or water for the road. I was really blown away that she wasn't just thinking about her pain but she really wanted to make sure we were taken care of.

We love you Tripp and we will NEVER forget you. You have changed the world forever sweet boy.

Please keep Courtney and her family in your prayers over the next few days, months and years. I love you Courtney, thank you so much for sharing your baby with us he has changed my life forever!

Today is Shannon's birthday so I wanted to say a big huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sweet friend Shannon. I love you and your family very much. Your friendship means the world to me!

Shannon and I have been friends for well over 10 years. We have grown closer and closer over the years and I so enjoy her company. We now trade kids once a week so the other one can have a break and get stuff done. Sadly that will be coming to an end soon because she will be having baby number four (one of their babies is with Jesus) and we will be getting Baby A. I will enjoy it while it lasts though.

She asked my to take their family pictures a few weeks ago and I of course said yes. I just want to say I am NOT a photographer and I don't want to be. I enjoy taking pictures of my family and of course I enjoy taking pictures of my friends if they ask but I by no means want to do it professionally. If you want an amazing family photographer or someone to take amazing new born photos contact Michelle Monk or if you want amazing birth photography contact Keri Duckett. Okay now that we got that out of they way here is my friend Shannon and her super cute family.

Jadyn, Shannon and Baby Sapp, Jay and Eli.

Love these two peeps... no three peeps (as she is pregnant) :)

I really like how this picture turned out.

She was "hugging" him... poor boy!

Eli's expression cracks me up!

Shannon is such a sweet Mama.

This is one loved baby!

Shannon and Jay are waiting to find out if the baby is a boy or girl. Let me just say this is driving me nuts. I know we did this with two of our pregnancy's but man it's hard for me not knowing what they are having.

The plan is for me to be in the room when this baby is born (as long as were not in Eastern Europe) and I can't wait to cheer my friend on as she has her first natural delivery!

Monday, January 16, 2012

My sweet baby boy turned 2 today. It amazes me how fast time flies by. I feel like I was just holding him in my arms for the first time and now he is TWO!!! We didn't really have anything planned for his birthday but we had a really fun weekend celebrating his life.

We went to some friends house after church and we decided to pick up a cake on the way so we could all sing Happy Birthday to Judah. Judah was so excited! Our last minute "Birthday Party" (if you could even call it that) was a HUGE success. He LOVED it even though all we really did was have pizza and sing Happy Birthday to him.

Everyone was telling Judah to stick his face in the cake but he wasn't too sure about that. Silas had NO problem doing it though.

Judah finally joined in on the fun!

While I was picking up a cake for him I saw a basket full of books that were 75% off. I looked through it and got a few kids books for fifty cents to a dollar. I NEVER find deals like this so I was super excited!

Today we spent lots of time playing outside.

Judah, Kenya, Dilan and Blake all helped make Judah's birthday cake.

Love those eyes.

Then we went to the park and had a picnic. It was so nice outside today. I think it was in the 70's.

Judah got these boots for his birthday and he has been wearing them every since. He even sleeps in them sometimes, Ha!

Sweet KK is a few months older than Judah.

Papa T and Wita sent Judah cookies and this is what he did when I told him to smile.

My sister and her family came over and brought gifts for Judah and Baby A. We can't share when Baby A's birthday is until after court but I thought it was so neat that they thought of him and got a present for him! Our family and friends have been so supportive of us and they all love Baby A so much! This is Baby A's first birthday gift and I know he is going to love it!

Judah got some man cars.

Then we went over to my Mom's house and she got Baby A the mattress for his dressing change table and a wet bag for his cloth diapers and Judah got a "tablet." I LOVE it because you can plug it into the computer and upload prerecorded emails. Kenya sent him 2 from her and we sent him one from Baby A. I love hearing Baby A's name coming from one of Judah's toys!

We didn't end up finishing the cake this afternoon so we took it to my Mom's house where Destinee and the kids decorated it.

and then we ate the cake right out of the pan!

Happy Birthday sweet boy you have brought nothing but joy to our family! We love you more than words could ever express!

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Sweet Tripp went to be with Jesus Saturday. Please be praying for comfort for his family. I am so so amazed at God's faithfulness to his family, Tripp died within minutes of his Mommy getting him out of bed and holding him in her arms. I am so thankful he died peacefully in his Mama's arms. What an answer to prayer!

Please go to their blog and leave Tripp's family a comment letting them know how much they are loved!

Friday, January 13, 2012

After Jason and I got married we started helping out with the youth group at the church we use to go to. Our friend Chris was the youth leader and he was PERFECT for the job! He taught them the Bible and wasn't afraid to talk about doctrine with them but he also knew how to plan a super fun youth night. One of my favorites was Duct Tape Night. We all had to create costumes using duct tape.

Jason was a punk rocker and I was a ladybug.

This is Chris the youth leader.

American Flag.

Love Gabe's outfit.

Sara (Chris' wife) and me :)

We played a game where we had to tape someone to the wall and see which kid would stay up the longest.